Landlords invest more than £2 million in new-look food zone at Eastgate Shopping Centre Loch & Larder, which will see new partnership with award-winning Scottish chef Gary Maclean
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More than £2 million is being invested in a new-look food zone at Eastgate Shopping Centre which will be known as Loch & Larder.
The emphasis will be on ambience and good-quality local produce with a street food twist, say representatives of the Inverness venue who refer to it as the New Food Collective.
It will include Scottish Kitchen by Gary Maclean, which is a new food concept from the multi-award-winning chef.
Other businesses involved will be revealed in the build up to its opening – which is expected to be before Christmas.
It is further good news for city foodies, coming as the Victorian Market’s £1.6 million redevelopment to create a food hall moves closer to completion and other city centre eateries are planned, developing or recently opened.
Centre manager Jackie Cuddy said: “Loch & Larder will become a place to meet, socialise and people watch.
“In the ever-changing world of retail, leisure and catering are becoming ever more important. The New Food Collective will be a destination that will drive footfall to the centre.
“Its appeal should span locals and tourists with the potential to trade later into the evening as the new, exciting brand becomes established.
“The landlords have invested in excess of £2 million into the redevelopment to bring it up to modern day expectations of customers.
“The contract for works was awarded to local contractor, Compass Building and Construction Services, who have been on site since June clearing the area just inside the Falcon entrance ready for the main build works which are now well under way.”
Furniture has been ordered from Italy, kitchen designs have been agreed and are in production plus operational partner Aramark has been secured.
Ms Cuddy was also absolutely delighted it has an exclusive partnership with Mr Maclean, who was crowned MasterChef: The Professionals champion in 2016 and has his own seafood restaurant within Bonnie & Wild Food Hall at St James Quarter in Edinburgh.
“It is with this passion for celebrating Scotland’s larder that I am absolutely honoured to partner with Aramark in delivering something truly exceptional at Eastgate,” he said. “We’ll be championing Scottish produce and creating dishes that celebrate small and independent suppliers.”
The ground floor food zone was among the most popular areas in the city centre when KFC was part of it prior to the fast-food chain opening an outlet in Millburn Road. Several other food businesses have come and gone and the area has been used for other things including the display and sales of artwork, as well as activities for youngsters.
Mark Hewett, of landlord Scoop Asset Management, said: “There were various parties engaging with us to become our operational partners on this project.
“We chose Aramark for two main reasons: their wealth of experience in the catering industry and the freshness of their concepts and ideas. This will be a great anchor for the centre and we see it as pivotal to our success.”
Helen Milligan-Smith, managing director at Aramark UK, said: “We are delighted to have the opportunity to bring this New Food Collective to Eastgate and Inverness. It’s fantastic to be able to showcase some of the finest local produce that’s on offer.
“With our vast experience and our ability to create delicious and bespoke menus based on high-quality ingredients, partnering with Eastgate was a natural choice for us.”
